ReCore (Xbox One)

The developers of ReCore likely sat in a cold sweat as they first viewed Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Clad in a pale scarf with a makeshift weapon strapped to her back, scouring a desert planet for parts, and jabbering with her robotic sidekick, ReCore’s lead Joule mimics Rey. Coincidence, probably, given the time frame in which the film and game fell. It’s a shame though – ReCore carries nothing else from Force Awakens, and it needs plenty more.

While ReCore’s core narrative mystery opens strong, play immediately descends into a familiar, repetitious, uneventful slog with inexcusably poor pacing. ReCore’s less a victim of design than modern gaming’s insufferable and unshakable time/value proposition. As for producer Keiji Infanue, it appears he’s forever cursed to spend his development life programming around digital robots.